'Women Tennis Players are All Sexpots and Bitches...'

'She's a little sexpot'

He contemptuously utters those words as if there's something wrong with being a bitchy sexpot.

OK, nobody wants to be bitched at much, but hey, as long as it's coming from a sexpot, I can live with the tradeoff.

A senior tennis official was today at the centre of a sexism row after insulting the world's top female tennis players.

The comments - which included describing some stars as 'sexpots' while threatening violence to another - were in an interview given by Justin Gimelstob, a US tennis player who sits on the board of directors of the ATP, which controls the men's game.

The ATP is 'appalled' by his remarks and Mr Gimelstob, 31, has been forced to apologise in an attempt to cling to his influential post.

Most of his vitriol, during an hour-long interview for US radio, was directed at Anna Kournikova, 27. Describing his relationship with the Russian star, with whom he trained as a junior, he said: 'She's a bitch.'

Asked if he hated her, he replied: 'Hate's a very strong word. I just despise her to the maximum level just below hate.'

Mr Gimelstob, who is due to play Kournikova in an exhibition mixed doubles match in Washington next month, then said he wanted to hit her hard with the ball in the midriff when serving at her.

'If she's not crying by the time she walks off the court then I did not do my job,' he added.

Finally, asked if he would ever have an affair with Kournikova, he said: 'Definitely not. I have no attraction to her because she's such a douche. I really have no interest in her... I wouldn't mind having my younger brother, who's a kind of a stud, nail her and then reap the benefits.'

Sounds like a real ladies man.

He said that while he did not fancy Kournikova - 'she has a great body but her face is a five' - he was attracted to other players.

He said of 21-ranked Tatiana Golovin that she was a 'sexpot'; of Nicole Vaidisova, who is ranked 22, 'she's a well developed young lady'; and of the 17th ranked Alize Cornet 'she's a little sexpot'.

He said there were fewer lesbians now on the women's tour than 15 years ago, adding: 'That's because they're all Russian chicks. And there's some other cute ones out there.'

Naturally, people are just a tad upset with Gimelstob.